South Korean smartphone maker Pantech Co. unveiled a new model dubbed the “Vega Note” this week that has a striking resemblance to Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note lineup.

Pantech Co.

Pantech’s Vega Note smartphone

Coincidence? Maybe not, since Samsung recently bought a 10% stake in the company.

When Samsung Electronics Co. announced those plans in May, the decision raised many eyebrows because Pantech didn’t seem to have much to offer Samsung in terms of technology or software capabilities. Samsung, without elaborating, had said the investment is aimed at solidifying its relationship with Pantech, which buys components from Samsung. Read More »

Just a few months after denying that it boosted benchmark stats for one of its gadgets, Samsung Electronics is facing the same doubts, this time over the performance of the new Galaxy Note 3.

Associated Press

A tech website that ran tests on the Note 3 says stat boosters may have been at work, making the smartphone perform up to 20% better than normal when running benchmark applications.Ars Technica reported that the CPU used in the U.S. version of the Galaxy Note 3 treats a benchmarking app differently from a normal app, triggering the phone’s chipset to run at a faster-than-normal speed under test runs. Read More »

The South Korean company posted a photo on one of its Twitter feeds Wednesday advertising a gold-colored version of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone. ”Elegance is a touch of Gold,” the ad says, with the shiny new Galaxy phone standing amid gold-sheened sand dunes. Read More »

About Korea Real Time

Korea Real Time provides sharp analysis and insight into what’s making news on the Korean peninsula. We chronicle the growing pains of South Korea — a country that has skyrocketed into the club of the world’s richest nations but now faces significant headwinds, and shine a spotlight on one of the world’s biggest geopolitical flashpoints: North Korea. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, we’ll tell the stories behind the headlines in business, economics, politics, culture and lifestyle. You can contact the editors at korearealtime@wsj.com